How to Design a Community of Learning That Lasts: Lessons from an African Expert

By Leila Abdullahi
Director of Research and Programme Delivery, Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA)

Many Communities of Learning begin with energy but lose momentum over time. The difference often lies in how intentionally they are designed.

At a recent validation convening of the African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL) hosted in Nairobi, Kenya in Feb 2026, participants gathered to reflect on an important question: how do we build a continental Community of Learning that truly lasts? 

ACSL is implemented through a partnership between Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA), VVOB – Education for Development, ADEA (Association for the Development of Education in Africa), and FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists). The initiative aims to strengthen school leadership systems across the continent through research, policy engagement, and professional development.

ESSA plays a central role in supporting the research and knowledge exchange components of ACSL, including helping shape the emerging Research Community of Learning to strengthen collaboration among African researchers, policymakers, and school leadership practitioners.

Within this scope, the Community of Learning emerged as a natural next step. We began exploring what it would take to establish a continental Community of Learning on school leadership. But, before discussing structures, platforms, or governance models, we paused to confront a more difficult question:

Why do so many Communities of Learning begin with energy, only to lose momentum quietly?

Rather than guess, we listened. Researchers, school leaders, university academics, and policy actors reflected on the networks they had built or participated in, including principal forums, university–school partnerships, writing retreats, and cross-country collaborations. One insight became unmistakable:

Communities last when they are intentionally designed to endure.

Structure Matters More Than Motivation

Several experts described initiatives that began with genuine commitment and strong participation. Early meetings were lively. Collaboration felt promising.

Yet without clear coordination, defined roles, documented processes, and continuity mechanisms, responsibility slowly fades. As one participant put it:

“There must be a learning hub, otherwise we’ll be penning to fate.” 

Anonymous, ACSL workshop, February 2026.

For example, during the convening, participants reflected on past regional networks that had strong initial participation but gradually weakened when there was no clear coordinating hub responsible for convening meetings, documenting outputs, and maintaining momentum across countries.

Communities cannot rely solely on personalities. They require a structure, a centre of gravity that ensures coherence beyond individual effort.

For ACSL, this means pairing a dedicated coordinating function with distributed leadership across nominated experts and country-level focal points.

Momentum Thrives on Consistency

Another clear pattern emerged: communities that endured were consistent in operations. They met at fixed intervals. Agendas were circulated in advance. Output was expected. Writing retreats were linked to publication timelines. Engagement was predictable rather than occasional.

Where this rhythm is missing, meetings slipped, and follow-up weakens. Gradually, participation declines.

Continuity is less about intensity and more about consistency.

If a Community of Learning is to succeed, engagement must be embedded in calendars and institutional routines.

Value Drives Commitment

Participants were candid: people remain active when participation strengthens their work.

Networks that thrived offered mentorship, peer review before journal submission, collaborative proposal development, joint conference panels, and visible recognition of contributions.

Those who struggled often offered conversation without clear progression.

Connection is important.
Contribution is essential.

A continental Community of Learning must produce outputs, research publications, policy briefs, collaborative grants, and comparative studies that support members’ professional growth and influence.

The ACSL Research Hub model already envisions a cycle from provocation to knowledge exchange to collaborative production. That production dimension must remain central. Ensuring that these exchanges translate into tangible outputs will be critical for sustaining engagement.

Governance Enables Continuity

Clarity of roles emerged as another decisive factor.

Experts emphasised the need to define who convenes, who documents, how leadership rotates, and how country-level initiatives align with continental direction.

Communities that relied solely on informal relationships struggled during transitions. Those with documented roles and transparent processes navigated change more effectively.

Governance, in this sense, is not bureaucracy. It is a continuity.

For ACSL and its partners, ESSA, VVOB, ADEA, and FAWE, this reinforces the need for shared leadership and clear accountability mechanisms embedded from the outset.

Technology Is a Tool, Not the Solution

The discussion on digital platforms was equally grounded.

Participants raised questions about data protection, connectivity constraints, integration with academic profiles, and mechanisms for tracking visible progress.

A digital platform can enhance coordination and visibility. It can showcase outputs and connect members across geographies. However, it cannot create engagement on its own.

Design precedes technology.

If implemented, the platform must support clear milestones, collaborative workspaces, and recognition of contributions rather than becoming another dormant portal.

From Reflection to Design

These reflections are shaping how we approach crafting the ACSL Community of Learning.

Rather than launching broadly, ESSA and ACSL partners are considering a phased approach, anchored by nominated experts across thematic areas, which may provide a stronger foundation. These experts could guide programming, mentor emerging researchers, and strengthen linkages between country-level and continental priorities.

The aim is not to form another network. It is to build a coherent ecosystem capable of influencing research, policy, and leadership practice over time.

A Final Reflection

Communities of Learning do not lose relevance because interest fades.

They lose relevance when structure, cadence, value, and clarity are taken for granted rather than embedded.

If ACSL establishes a continental Community of Learning, it must be deliberately rooted in partnership, guided by expertise, and matched with real leadership challenges.  

The measure of success will not be the number of members who join at launch. It will be whether, years from now, the community remains active, producing knowledge, mentoring scholars, informing policy, and strengthening school leadership systems across Africa.

Acknowledgement

This blog draws on insights from the African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL) validation convening held in Nairobi in February 2026. ACSL is a partnership coordinated by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and implemented with Education Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA), the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), and VVOB – education for development. We acknowledge the contributions of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from across Africa who participated in the consultations.